Today’s
The World Around Us
will be presented
in Punjabi and English,
with subtitles in Arabic,
Aulacese (Vietnamese),
Chinese, English, French,
German, Hungarian,
Indonesian, Japanese,
Korean, Malay,
Persian, Portuguese,
Punjabi, Russian,
Spanish and Thai.

Originating
with Guru Nanak Dev Ji
in the beginning
of the 16th century,
Sikhism is considered
to be a relatively
young religion in India.
Succeeding Guru Nanak,
nine other gurus kept the
lineage of Sikhism alive
until Guru Gobin Singh,
the last
living humanGuru,
announced the
Eternal Shabad Guru in the
Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji,
also known as
the holy book of Sikhism.

Sikhs follow a simple,
sincere way of life,
which includes adopting
a pure vegetarian diet,
praying and serving others.
From early sunrise
to nightfall, Gurdwaras,
the temple of Sikh,
are open for devotees
to come for worshipping
to the Almighty God
as well as
to serve and help others.

In the very heart
of New Delhi, India,
a vast and marvel building
that once belonged
to Raja Jai Singh,
an India ruler of that time,
now stands stately
Gurdwara Bangla Sahib,
in memory of
Guru Har Krishan Ji,
the eighth guru
of the Sikhs.

There is a soul-stirring
holy hymn in the Sikh
scriptures which says that
“When He
(God Hierself or through
his messenger or prophet)
blesses, a disabled
can climb a mountain,
and an illiterate foolish
person can become
the master of
the Four Vedas.”
This encapsulates two
17th century legendary
events involving
Sri Har Krishan.

In one of them,
five-year-old
Sri Har Krishan cured
a leper instantly
through a handkerchief.
And on another occasion,
touched an uneducated
man on a stick,
after which the man
began to expound
the philosophy
of the ancient scriptures.

Every day,
more than 7,000 visitors
from all over the country
and even overseas
come to
Gurdwara Bangla Sahib.
People believe that
through coming
to this gurdwara,
one’s sincere prayers
can be fulfilled.
The entire complex
of this holy place
is instantly recognizable
with its outstanding
sculpted architecture.

You can see
the golden domes
on the top of the temple,
that you can see
they are made up
of inverted lotus shape.
That means right
underneath that big dome,
the golden temple,
you’ll find the holy book.

This temple
commemorates the visit
of eighth Prophet of
Sikhism Guru Har Krishan
in a lineage
of ten Prophets
in the Sikh religion.
And just behind me
you can see the shoe stall,
where people take off
their shoes and socks
and cover their hair with
a scarf, then clean up
their hands and feet and
straight away go inside.

Why they cover their
head is to show respect
to go inside a Sikh temple.
They cover their head
to show respect
to the Sikh temple.
Now all the people
will take off
the shoes and socks,
and after getting
their shoes and socks off
they just wash their
hands and feet over there,
and then they approach
to go forward
inside the temple.

Before
entering the main hall,
sincere pilgrims kneel
or bend down repeatedly,
touching
the holy grounds or stairs
before the entrance.

The people when
they start the journey,
before they go inside
they touch the stairs,
a mark of respect.

In the main place
of worship
inside the Gurdwara,
also known as the temple,
the Sri Guru Granth Sahib
is placed in the center
of the prayer hall
under the golden canopy.
In the Gurdwara,
holy hymns from
Sikh scripture are sung
and recited all day long.

Around the holy book,
there are free spaces
where people
could sit and meditate
or enjoy the holy hymns.
Others could
walk around the book
and offer flowers
or Parshad to the temple.
Parshad is a blessed
vegetarian pudding,
half of which is offered
to the temple, while
the other half is received
as a blessed food to share
with friends and family
at home.
The Gurdwara
Bangla Sahib
is open daily from
3 o’clock in the morning
to 9 o’clock at night
to any pilgrims, regardless
of one’s walk of life.

There is no prescribed
time in Sikhism to pray,
because we believe that
our God is everywhere.
So we can pray anytime,
anywhere.
The sense of coming
to the temple is to bring
common equality, where
the people pray together
and they sit down
together in the present
of the holy book.

So the main concept is
sharing the same one goal,
together, without any
class or color distinction,
because in Sikhism
we don’t have a difference
about god and goddesses,
between any other religion
and all of ourselves.

We sit down together,
man, woman, rich
and poor, and we share
the same goal together.
That’s the main concept.

To the east of
the main area of worship,
there is a common kitchen,
offering langar to
all pilgrims and visitors.
Langar is the name
for the vegetarian kitchen
which serves meals daily,
free of charge,
to any one who
comes to the Gurdwara.
The idea of langar
was originated
by Guru Nanak,
the first Guru of the Sikhs.
He introduced
equality and unity
between people,
allowing all people.
Guru Nanak preached that
we should work diligently,
recite the name of God,
and share with
the less of fortunate.

Langar is staffed
by volunteers,
most of whom
are pilgrims themselves.
In the kitchen, water is
provided in the corner and
steel plates and cutlery
are available for food.
In the Sikh community,
the opportunity
to do Sewa, meaning
voluntary service,
is considered a privilege
and high honor.

Irrespective of religion
caste or color, they
come over here, inside
the kitchen, and they are
sitting down on the floor.
It usually contains the
Indian bread chapatti,
and dahl (beans)
and some vegetables
sometimes and rice also.
You’ll see
they are sitting now,
10-15,000 people
have free food
from over here every day,
two times a day.
The kitchen starts serving
up till 3-4pm
in the evening, then again
from 8pm in the evening
till 10 or 11 at night.
So two times a day,
free food is provided to all.

In Sikhism,
only vegetarian food
is allowed
in any public occasions,
including gatherings
or social events.

Keeping the environment
in mind,
we have a lot of respect
for the environment
and for animals also,
whichever animal it is.
So we don’t kill
any animals.

When we return we’ll
go around to the east part
of the Gurdwara
Bangla Sahib complex,
and hear the story
of the young Guru
Har Krishan’s caring and
courage for the people.
Please stay tuned to
Supreme Master
Television.

Welcome back to
The World Around Us
on Supreme Master
Television.
Situated in the heart
of New Delhi, India,
Gurdwara Bangla Sahib
was once
the holy residence
of Guru Har Krishan
when he came
to Delhi by
the invitation of the king
in the 17th century.

Originally a traditional
style single storey house,
it has been renovated
to a place of worship
for over several thousands
of sincere pilgrims
every day.
When Guru Har Krishan,
the eighth Sikh Guru,
came to Delhi, he lodged
here as a guest
of Raja Jai Singh,
an India ruler.

This temple
commemorates the visit
of the 8th prophet, of the
Sikh Guru Har Krishan.
He came over here
in the 17th century, 1664,
at the request
of the Hindu King
Raja Jai Singh.
He came over here
and stayed over here
in this place
for a couple of months.

Guru Har Krishan was
young in age but mature
in spiritual wisdom.
At the time, an epidemic
of smallpox and cholera
was spreading and causing
much suffering among
the people of Delhi.
With the compassion
of a Master,
Guru Har Krishan
decided to help.

Looking at the suffering
and sorrow of people, he
went to the desert areas
in and around Delhi,
and blessed the people,
giving them new clothes
and blessings.

During his visits
to the afflicted area,
a person asked Guru Ji
why he chose
to risk his life,
going into dark streets
and contacting
people with illnesses?
The Guru replied
that if a child is sick,
if the child is suffering,
can the mother have
a sound sleep at that time?
Wouldn’t she be worried
about her children?
He said that
it was his responsibility
that when human beings
were suffering, he
must take care of them as
a mother would her child.
Thus,
he carried out true Sewa,
or service to people.

When he arrived in Delhi,
Guru Har Krishan
was only seven years old.
He met thousands of
visitors and devotes daily
giving aid
and fresh water from
the well of Bangla Sahib
to cure their ills.
Therefore the water
in the pond is now being
revered as holy water
having healing properties.
Gurdwara Bangla Sahib
is famous for its pond
of holy water, the Amrit.

So we are just standing
next to the holy pool.
Usually
in every Sikh temple
we find the holy pool.
We call them the sarovar.
The sarovar
is called the place
where a lot of water is
collected in one position.
You’ll find this is used
actually for purification
of mind, body and soul.

People, irrespective of
religion, show equality.
People go inside,
take a holy dip together.
That means no caste,
no creed, no color.
All men and women
are treated as equals
when they go inside.
This thing is not done on
special days or timings,
each and every day
and each and every time
is a sacred one.

Gurdwara Bangla Sahib
is now a sacred place for
pilgrimage for the Sikhs.
The sincere God seekers
throughout the world
come to pay their respect
to Guru Har Krishan
in the Gurdwara, to pray
from their hearts, and
bring back holy water as
a blessing to their homes.
Ultimately,
Sri Har Krishan himself
gave the supreme sacrifice
when he contracted
smallpox from having
contacted
so many people,
and left this world
at the tender age of seven.

The well known verse,
“Sri Har Krishan Dhiaiyai,
jis dithay sabh dukh jae,”
means remember or pray
to Sri Har Krishan,
seeing whom
all suffering vanishes.
This verse is a part of
the formal ardaas
(daily prayer
or supplication)
of the Sikh religion,
and thus,
this young eighth Guru is
remembered by the Sikhs
as one who alleviated
the ill and suffering.

Blessed viewers,
thank you
for your company today.
Coming up next is
World of Wisdom
after Noteworthy News,
so please stay tuned to
Supreme Master
Television.
May the Love of God
be in your heart, always.

There is no other music
quite like
the Iraqi Maqam.
That is why it is called
Maqam, which indicates
a high and exalted status.

Only a few of the gifted
are able to sing
Iraqi Maqam.
Fewer still convey
more than the music.

We want to say
to the whole world
that our tradition
is not only about music,
it also means peace
for the whole world.